We’re not yet out of 2018, but this week a tsunami of Madness gigs were announced for the year ahead. Held during the band’s 40th anniversary year, you’ll have chance to see the band at racecourses, sandy beaches, festivals and many other locations.
Naturally, we have details of all confirmed gigs in our regular “Showtimes” section so please check it out. Newly announced gigs are all highlighted with ** new ** next to them, so they’re easy to spot.
While the current Christmas tour has a few dates left to run tickets for the racecourse gigs go on sale tomorrow morning at 8:00am. Check out Ticketmaster for more details.
Also this week, we have news of the latest single from the dynamic duo, The Bed and Breakfast Men, while elsewhere Jonathan Young takes a look at the new Madness songs being aired at recent gigs accompanied with a few of their transcriptions.
See below for all forthcoming Madness and Madness related gigs and events. If there’s something we’ve missed off or you feel should be added then please let us know.
The idea is a simple one, that came to us one evening back in July.
Bands as Football Teams, Football Teams as Bands.
We now have over 400 badges, working with friends and guest designers, setting up an exhibition at The National Football Museum in Manchester https://bandsfc.com/”
Bands FC have given a large number of badges to the band to give away on the Sound of Madness tour. So, if you’re buying something before or after one of the gigs don’t forget to pick up your free badge.
New Arrivals at The Madstore ** New **
If you missed the House Of Fun or you need another fix get your hands on the event range NOW at The MAD STORE with 20% OFF whilst stocks last!
NEW STOCK JUST LANDED!
2018 Christmas Sweaters, track jackets, polos, fez hats, tea towels, badge sets, dekker hats, beanie hats the list goes on….!
Lee ‘Kix’ Thompson is a most unlikely character. Early career choices had him spend a year in Borstal. He still hasn’t found the receipt for his first saxophone. Luckily, he met two other unlikely characters: Mike ‘Barso’ Barson and ‘Chrissy Boy’ Foreman, who shared his interests of graffiti, train hopping and music.
One Man’s Madness, a feature length rocku-docu-mockumentary directed by Jeff Baynes, tells the story of Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson, told by Lee and his fellow Madness band mates, his family, friends and musicologists, who strangely all look a little like him! From meeting Barso and Chrissy Boy, and later Suggs, Chas, Woody and Bedders, to becoming one of Britain’s most iconic and successful bands, this joyous and light-hearted film follows the path of Lee’s life through his lyrics and songs, including such Madness classics as The Prince, Embarrassment, House Of Fun, Lovestruck and NW5.
Two CD set. Original soundtrack to the 2018 documentary about Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson. Includes tracks from Madness, Crunch, ‘Thommosina Leigh’, Ian Dury, and the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra. Including Hidden Tracks.
Danceable and delightful, this debut album of the band’s much loved original songs pushes on through, breaking the mould of standard ska cover band. Catchy tunes and powerful brass and rhythm section make this a must-listen. Featuring Lee Thompson.
I Remember Way Back When
This week, MIS co-editor Rob Hazelby goes back in time to report on what was going on in the world of Madness 5 years, 10 and 15 years ago this week.
5 years ago…
Issue Number: 762 – Sunday 15th December to Saturday 21st December 2013
In this issue we brought you news of various Specialized releases, details of an updated release date for Bangarang, a review of the recent Ska Orchestra gig at the Black Horse Pub and Brewery, and even a few snippets revealing what the Ska Orchestra and Madness had planned for the year ahead.
Alongside that we had recent Madness related highlights from the Twitterverse, a roundup of Madness and Madness related goodies for you to spend your pennies on and a detailed lowdown of all forthcoming gigs.
We were really too good to you!
Daren West was kind enough to send in another one of his comprehensive reviews. This time we were treated to the lowdown of the Lee Thompson gig at the Black Horse Pub, which took place on Saturday 16th November.
Our roving reporting rounded off his review by commenting;
“It’s a 15 strong set and it got the whole pub rocking. I make my way back to the bar, have a chat with mates and probably a good 20 minutes after the set finished, they’re back on stage again! The ‘encore’ is probably 8-10 more songs going through some of the earlier set again! Amazing! I guess even our star saxophonist and his guitarist need a little bit of practice ahead of the biggest weekend of the year!?!!”
Moving on to our regular “Sign of the Times” section, and this week we reprinted an interview with Carl who had dropped in to the Ibiza Radio station for a brief interview. Commenting on going solo, Carl responded;
“Carl admitted that it was easier working alone on the material with less ‘cooks’ involved, “You don’t have to compromise,” he said. “With six band members there is a lot of compromise involved, and that is ok. It is healthy, but all of that involves conflict. I don’t mind a bit of cut and thrust, but working on your own material means that you get the final say, but at the same time, it is a more organic process.”
In our semi-regular “Tweets of a Dove” section Bedders commented on the possibility of a Christmas single and an update on his tuba exam;
“Potential xmas single?
I’m going to cleverly re-work ‘My Favourite Things’ into, ‘Ma Fave ‘n’ Ting’ for N-Dubz.
Tuba exam taken…
Well, that was nerve-wracking and over in a flash. Tuba Grade One exam done. I think I did ok
Two to Three weeks for results. A pass of any kind will do.”
We brought this issue to a close with news in from Darren Fordham that you could catch a slimmed-down Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra this coming Monday on Robert Elms’ London Radio Show 94.9.
10 years ago…
Issue 502 – Sunday 14th December to Saturday 20th December 2008
We began this issue with some exciting news for all of you who are still on the lookout for standing tickets for this coming Friday’s gig at the O2 Arena.
Here’s Chris Carter-Pegg with the details;
“For anyone without tickets yet Ticketmaster have released a load more Standing Tickets for next Friday’s gig at the o2.
…don’t ever be fooled when Ticketmaster declare Standing Tickets ‘Sold Out’ within hours of them going on sale. These days they usually hold large numbers back for sale at a later date (even though they strongly deny that they do this!)”
Moving on, and those of you who were as puzzled as to the significance of the countdown over on the official Madness web site as we were could now sleep easy, as we had the answer. Unfortunately it wasn’t as exciting as you were no doubt hoping. (That’s if you were expecting it to be a countdown to the release of the new album!)
Chrissy Boy confirmed earlier in the week that the countdown was purely to signify the launch of the re-vamped web site, and also to tie-in with the date of the Manchester gig.
Still, it was exciting news, and made a pleasant change from the dancing M animation we’d had to sit through over the past gawd knows how many years.
On to the articles, and while the sheet music for Divine Madness had been re-printed a number of times since its initial publication back in 1992, it had always been an enormous shame that there hadn’t been a new book of sheet music released since then, with Wonderful being sadly overlooked.
It therefore came as an enormous surprise to find that a new Madness songbook had recently been published, printed as a glossy deluxe souvenir item as part of the merchandise for the Our House Musical.
This perfectly presented 112 page score provided us for the first time with the piano parts and guitar chords for NW5 and Simple Equation.
Next, and as band rehearsals continued we published a number of tidbits detailing what was currently being practiced. Would these see the light of day at a gig? We’d have to wait and see.
We brought this issue to a close with the news that Jonathan Young would be taking a voice recorder along to the forthcoming O2 gig, and that you shouldn’t be too surprised to find it shoved under your nose either before or after the performance.
15 years ago…
Issue 240 – Sunday 14th December to Saturday 20th December 2003
In our haste to get this issue of the MIS out on time we accidentally sent the bulletin to the list server rather than the distribution address where it should have gone.
What it meant for the reader base is that they got their MIS late as the issue had to be sent back out once the problem had been spotted.
What it meant for the MIS staff is a mountain of emails from the list server, each containing an error message, as it tried to process each line of the bulletin as a list server command. Whoops!
Thanks to a number of kind Maddies, this issue contained reviews of the Wembley gig held on the 8th December and the Sheffield gig held on the 11th. For those still waiting to see the band during their last remaining gigs, we recommended that they skipped past certain sections of the issue so as not to ruin their live experience.
Following on from our heads-up in last week’s MIS revealing that a `Johnny The Horse` bootleg was doing the rounds on Ebay, Simsey and Jonathan reported on a few more things we needed to keep away from.
Simsey had spotted two ebayers (one in America, one in Belfast) selling the Dance Craze DVD. He reported the auctions to Ebay, and they were swiftly removed. Simsey also warned us of another seller who basically spray painted CDs and then put them in with the sleeves into presentation cases.
Even more worrying/amusing (depending on which way you looked at it), was one seller on Ebay who was flogging Madness novelty bank notes.
Here’s what Jon had to say at the time;
“no one is claiming that this is legal tender or worth £20 or anything like that, but they might have at least used pictures of Madness to produce it not a madness Tribute band! Fools”.
It was worth looking at the auction photos, as it looked as if someone had simply glued the cut-outs on to the notes!
We finished off this week’s issue with news on the new Ian Dury and The Blockheads Book – “Song By Song”, which contained a foreward by comedian Phil Jupitus. The Blockheads site would be taking advance orders for the book around mid December.
Rob Hazelby
MIS Feature
The Sound of New Madness Songs
The five brand new Madness songs that debuted in Minehead have since been revolving, two per night, across the current Sound of Madness tour.
Here is where they have appeared thus far…
At Leeds
Pussy galore
In my street
At Manchester
Goodbye
Almost by the sea
At Newcastle
Bullingdon boys
In my street
At Plymouth
Almost by the sea
Pussy galore
At Bournemouth
Bullingdon boys
Goodbye
At Nottingham
Pussy galore
In my street
At London
Almost by the sea
Goodbye
At Birmingham
Bullingdon boys
In my street
With 5 more gig yet to play on the tour, they have been shaping up nicely in these arenas following a fairly rushed debut show with poor sound and a lot of other song distractions on that first Friday. Chrissy boy has confirmed the songs writing credit and confirmed the names including some aka’s for us. Here are some video links to them on the tour, a few lyrics too, and more considered review of these numbers now we’ve further heard them.
Pussy galore (Thompson / Foreman) AKA British Film Standards
Bullingdon boys (Barson) Aka Making England Great Again.
Almost by the sea – Some of the Lyrics.
The Sun was Shining down.
At 2.30pm
We left town
To head south
We crossed the river thames
Past Chelsea
On our way
hey hey
The sun burned down
The wheels were spinning around
From the Henry Ford motor company
August 1970
In our clapped out Ford Capri
so happy just to be
almost by the sea.
The radio played, Israelites
we knew we would be there soon
long past Epsom town
and Woking.
At Chichester we turned off for the coast.
All the way
hey hey
a2145
The sun burned down
The wheels they spun around
so happy just to be
we were almost by the sea.
——————
Goodbye – Some of the Lyrics….
I’m sick and tired of my girlfriend
She doesn’t love me at all
I can’t stand the state of the nation
I don’t …. at all
I’m gone auf wiedersehen good riddance
I’m off to foreign lands farewell to all
Goodbye chum
I’ve got to run
goodbye me
and to you
‘cus I’m through
Goodbye tears
all down through the years
it was sometimes fun
but I’m done
‘cus its over
I hate what she said in the kitchen
enough of the ….
life’s costing me a small fortune
and i cant take the pressure no more
im gone auf wiedersehen good riddance
‘cus I’m off to foreign lands farewell to all
Goodbye chum
I’ve got to run
goodbye me
and to you
‘cus I’m through
Goodbye tears
all down through the years
it was sometimes fun
but I’m done
‘cus its over
Goodbye chum
I’ve got to run
goodbye me
and to you
‘cus I’m through
Goodbye tears
all down through the years
it was sometimes fun
but I’m done
‘cus its over
———————-
Pussy Galore – Some of the lyrics
I can barely keep the pace
as I bolt out the door
tonight the bell tolls
and it’s pussy galore
See your plus box
reacting to the cucumber sandwich
between the pause
and the long term damage
what an earth did you take me for?
did you judge me purely on ratings?
you bend me like a pretzel
I’m down on all fours
The money box is there for the taking
Take the money
Open the box
Take the money
Open the box
The problem as I see it
And I’m not one to judge
But the boy with compassion
Takes a dive in the sludge
what an earth did you take me for?
did you judge me purely on ratings?
you bend me like a pretzel
I’m down on all fours
The money is there for the taking
in all the kerfuffle
you are the sole director
so pull the F**king plug from its connector
I can barely keep the pace
as I bolt out the door
tonight the bell tolls
and it’s pussy galore
what an earth did you take me for?
did you judge me purely on ratings?
you bend me like a pretzel
I’m down on all fours
The money box is there for the taking
what an earth did you take me for?
did you judge me purely on ratings?
you bend me like a pretzel
I’m down on all fours
The money box is there for the taking
Take the money
Open the box
Take the money
Open the box
In last weekend’s HOF review we mentioned Almost by the sea being a 70s holiday drive. Its going from NW5 to Selsey. Not just in the song but in London 02 it was played after NW5 and before Driving in my car. So it’s geographically correct. This song was sounding great with its whistling outro at London. It’s a slow one for a Madness gig to be honest, I’m sure it will find its home more in a car journey itself.
Bullingdon Boys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullingdon_Club Theres a wiki link for all you need to know about the posh oxford boys club. It’s David Cameron and Boris Johnson and their recent activities that this one is about. fake news version of sign of the times then! A sardonic grey day downbeat Madness tune.
Goodbye is 50s rock n roll style swinging number as a man waves Goodbye to his girl, and also the country! Smile and wave Woody off, is he heading for an off shore haven now he cant take it all anymore. Its goodbye to her, and goodbye to them. Deliciously topical, and might be the best Woodgate Madness song ever (though Leon might have something to say about that!) If a comfortable man found voice in times of break up, Dan is now that man. Unexpected. From the back of the pack it’s heading for top spot.
In my street, we compared to slaves and space lyrically last week, but Suggs live addition of “dead end ” in his ab lib, turns this back to a kinks homaging tune, the idea of writing about your own street going back to Ray Davies who is also in the sound of madness tour programme.
“I can’t get away until judgement day” he sings. You are trapped in your own manner. It’s full of character literally.
Pussy Galore is indeed on closer inspection and from it’s confirmed AKA, the song Thommo told Dave Robinson about on his radio show earlier this year. Sitting down to watch tv his sky plus box accidentally showed him a different programme a recording of a graphic male encounter ensued from tv drama cucumber, sex and violence on tv is the topic, and not something he was expecting to see. Take your pick is the game show that used to have audiences shouting “take the money” “open the box” where as “the money shot” well now thats something rather different! Lee wishes not to judge but that he had picked another channel.
One more week of the tour. Please play at least one of these on the Beeb Madness for new year. The F word may rule out the pussy!
Goodbye before the bells? or Bullingdon Boys just inside Jan 1st for my money.
Then good luck in the studio for these new songs and some covers or more tunes? With a busy touring XL schedule from May it looks like January to April is the time to tune the tunes further.
Jonathan Young
Sign of the Times
Ska legends Madness announce summer gig in Carlisle
MADNESS are set to return to Carlisle for a show-stopping summer gig at Bitts Park.
The ska legends have announced a city concert which will take place on June 9, 2019.
The band, fronted by singer-songwriter Suggs, will be bringing some of their greatest hits including Our House, It Must Be Love and House of Fun.
Tickets for the event are set to go on pre-sale from 10am on Monday via Ticketline. General release tickets are available from 10am on Wednesday from other major ticket outlets.
Madness’s last performance in Cumbria was at Kendal Calling in 2016. They also performed at Carlisle Racecourse in 2015.
Madness to make Northampton return with Franklin’s Gardens gig
Madness will return to Northampton to headline Franklin’s Gardens next year as part of their 40th anniversary tour.
One of the top-20 selling UK groups of all time, the band will perform hits from their extensive back catalogue in front of up to 18,000 people at the home of Northampton Saints on Friday, June 28, with tickets going on sale next week.
After forming in Camden Town in 1979, Madness have become one of the music industry’s best-loved and most-successful acts with hits including Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love and House Of Fun.
Combining the genres of ska, reggae, Motown, rock ’n’ roll and classic pop, the group’s ability to write songs that sparkle with the stuff of British life saw them spend 214 weeks on the UK singles charts during the 1980’s – a record for the decade jointly held with UB40.
Madness’ hits have left an indelible mark on British pop culture, with 15 of their singles reaching the UK top ten.
In recent years the band have delivered historic performances at Glastonbury Festival and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert, as well as the 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony.
Madness will follow the success of Franklin’s Gardens’ debut open-air concert last summer when Lionel Richie performed in front of a capacity crowd.
Saints chief executive Mark Darbon said: “This promises to be another very special night at Franklin’s Gardens and we cannot wait to welcome an act of Madness’ calibre to Northampton.
“Last summer we showed that Franklin’s Gardens is not just the home of Northampton Saints – it is a superb multi-use facility and we are well suited to hosting events of this scale.
“I’m really excited to be able to watch both our core supporters and non-rugby fans streaming through the club’s gates again in the summer.”
Tickets go on general sale at 8am on Friday, December 21, with a pre-sale on Thursday, December 20, at 8am available to anyone who is singed up to the club’s mailing list.
Ticket prices start from £40 for adults with hospitality packages also available in the Franklin’s Gardens boxes, Director’s Lounge, Champions Suite, and Captain’s Club.
Madness at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena – review and photos
‘We are launched into a medley of old hits such as House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House and It Must Be Love’
Madness are a British institution. Fact.
Like beans on toasts, roast spuds, a pint in the pub; Madness are a band that have weaved themselves into British culture.
They are the type of band where your docile dad will metamorphise into a madman on a dance floor when he hears Baggy Trousers at a relatives’ wedding.
Packed with cheeky lyrics, schoolboy charm, a youthful and playfulness to their performances, Madness have spent decades at the top of pop by never changing a formula that works.
Last night, at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena we were treated to the Very Best of Madness; this isn’t a tour through 12 albums worth of sounds but rather a step back (not beyond) into their 70s and 80s repertoire.
And who can complain? Blasted by the sassy sound of a saxophone, opener One Step Beyond is followed by Embarrassment, The Prince, NW5 and My Girl.
Lead singer Suggs, dressed in usual smart attire, was on good form joking that he was ‘still alive’ and that the band are ‘practicing for next year’s X Factor.’
He even recalls playing at Rock City.
This is music to dance to, where all your woes and troubles can be left at the bar, with classics such as Driving in My Car, Lovestruck and Wings of a Dove squeezed in between not so well known but still ska-tastic numbers.
Formed in North London in 1976 the band were named in homage to one of their favourite Prince Buster songs.
Part of the independent Stiff Records, they paved the way for British punk and new wave alongside Ian Dury, The Pogues and even Elvis Costello.
Madness’s music still sounds relevant rather than nostalgic.
Mr Apples and Pussy Galore are the only two new songs on display tonight, and they don’t disappoint, before we are launched into a medley of old hits such as House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House and It Must Be Love.
There was a sea of red fez’s across the almost full 10,000 person arena, as the band popped on for a short encore, concluding the evening with Night Boat to Cairo.
Madness are one step beyond other British artists.
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but these old dogs don’t need new tricks.
It’s been around forty years since the nutty boys hit the stage and started off on a journey that may have had a few pit stops but on tonight’s showing its is still motoring on down the road.
Some of the crowd have grown up and grown older with the band, some were not born in the eighties and have been bought along with their parents, but for one night only the BIC was transformed into a House of Fun for all.
I am certain that every single person enjoyed every last second of tonight’s gig regardless of age or normal musical taste (there were a few people in Iron Maiden and Motörhead t-shirts who were having a ball).
A set list that covered everything from Prince Buster to Mr Apples provided all of the old favourites whilst showing the band can still write and perform a tune right up there with the best.
The venue was packed with the crowd finding it difficult if not impossible to sit or stand still to favourites Baggy Trousers, Our House, House of Fun and my all time favourite Madness song Bed and Breakfast Man just as it’s impossible not to sing along to main set closer It Must Be Love.
Woody had hardly left the stage before the rest of the band were on their way back for a robust version of Madness followed by show closer Night Boat to Cairo. A great night with most of the crowd still bouncing as they headed off into the night.
“Limelight has been the difficult third single but we are really happy with how it’s turned out. Our first single Dublin Castle was a bit easier as we knew we wanted to pay homage to Madness’s songs, albums & locations so we had a lot to go at. The second one To The Moon (& Back Again) was a bit more difficult mainly as we had some health issues in the making of it, but getting Lee Thompson on board for the video really helped push things a long and it seemed to go down as well as our first effort.
For Limelight we really wanted to pay tribute to the roots of British comedy especially the old Music Hall which was the foundation a lot of comedy double acts and a great source of comic songs and routines which ended up in films and later TV. We know Madness have always taken inspiration from that scene (maybe via Chris’s Dad?) and their music and video’s echo some Music Hall traditions. Liberty of Norton Folgate is probably the most obvious and to some degree “Rise & Fall” As we are obviously heavily influenced by Madness but also Laurel & Hardy, Chas & Dave, Morecambe & Wise etc we wanted to write a song that harked back to those acts and the fun they gave us as kids. Limelight doesn’t really name check any Madness songs like our other charity singles but it does hint at young fans who are “up the front for every show” and might be inspired to try and make music themselves. It’s also a bit about ageing comedians like Laurel & Hardy who kept entertaining until they physically couldn’t do it anymore…”no need to act your age”
The video for Limelight was great fun and me (Matt) and Nick got to do some music hall style slapstick routines in an old theatre with a few “special guests” popping up
for support. The poster for Limelight which also features on the cover is two forgotten comedians “Dale & O’Malley” which inspired our outfits and characters in the video. We always film these things in the spirit of Stiff record’s boss & director of Madness Pop video’s Dave Robinson, a lot of quick set ups and not much hanging about to try and capture that energy that Madness did so well in their pop videos. My great grandad “Billy Burton” was a Music Hall comedian so I’ve put a few of his things in the dressing room scenes as a bit of a tribute, I wonder if Chrissy Boy’s dad knows anything about him.
The single was released ont Monday 3rd December with every penny going to CLIC Sargent Children’s Cancer charity. We really didn’t think two Madness fans with a Ukulele would lead to three original song releases so whatever happens with The Bed & Breakfast Men next we are chuffed to have used the spirit of Madness to have fun and raise money for some really worthy causes.
We are making a limited run of 200 CD copies with a free gift (free metal badge for the first 100 orders) or it’s available as a download over December:
That’s just about it for this week’s edition of the MIS.
With a few gigs still to take place in this year’s Christmas tour, we ask that if you get along to any of the shows, please email in with your reviews. Regardless of whether you think the performance was good or bad we’d really like to hear your thoughts.
